Vented bucket

ABSTRACT

A vented bucket for use in an endless conveyor system, such as the conveyor belt of a grain elevator or feed elevator, includes two oppositely disposed side panels joined by a rear panel, a bottom panel, and a front panel. At least one vent tube extends along or within one of the rear panel, side panels or front panel in a substantially vertical orientation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present invention claims the benefit of priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 62/425,934 for VENTED BUCKET, filed Nov. 23,2016, incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This disclosure relates to a vented bucket for use in an endlessconveyor system, such as a bucket elevator. More specifically, thedisclosed vented bucket includes two oppositely disposed side panelsjoined by a rear panel, a bottom panel, and a front panel. At least onevent tube extends along or within one of the rear panel, side panels orfront panel in a substantially vertical orientation. The vent tubefacilitates loading material into the vented bucket by allowing airtrapped between the bottom of the bucket and the incoming material toescape into a lower opening of the vent tube and exit via an upperopening of the vent tube. The vent tube further facilitates unloadingmaterial from the vented bucket by providing a pathway for air to reachthe bottom of the bucket, inhibiting formation of a vacuum between thebottom of the bucket and the exiting material.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates in general to transportation containers for usewith endless conveyor systems, and in particular to vented buckets foruse with bucket elevators. Bucket elevators are commonly used in thegrain and feed industries, among others, to transport flowable bulkmaterial from an initial deposit location to a distribution location ata height above the deposit location. The deposit location may be, forexample, where a farmer makes his delivery to a grain elevator and thedistribution location may be, for example, the starting point of thegrain-processing cycle at the elevator. At the deposit location, thegrain is accumulated in a housing through which an endless conveyor beltpasses. Buckets on this endless conveyor belt scoop up the grain andcarry it to a higher point. As a container reaches the top of theconveyor belt path and begins its downward travel, the grain in thecontainer is discharged into a head area that is in communication withthe distribution location.

Traditional buckets commonly face two challenges when used in endlessconveyor systems, such as in grain elevators. First, when loadingmaterial into the bucket, air can become trapped between the bottom ofthe bucket and the incoming material. This trapped pocket of airdecreases the volume of material which can be carried in the bucket.Second, when unloading material from the bucket, a vacuum may formbetween the bottom of the bucket and the exiting material. This vacuumcauses material to be retained in the bucket, decreasing the rate ofemptying the bucket. These challenges are typically addressed in theindustry by incorporating a plurality of vent holes in the bottom ofbuckets. Vent holes provide a pathway for air to reach and escape from aposition between the bottom of the bucket and material loaded in thebucket. Vent holes provide a solution to these challenges, but thesolution is not ideal. During normal operation, a relatively smallamount of material may escape from a loaded bucket through the ventholes. However, should the elevator pause or cease operation, loadedbuckets will empty their material into the bottom of the bucketelevator, potentially plugging the elevator and preventing movement ofthe conveyor system. It was realized by the inventor that improvementsin elevator buckets are needed to address these challenges and provideother important advantages.

SUMMARY

The disclosed vented buckets address these challenges and providesmultiple benefits to a user. More specifically, the disclosed ventedbuckets lack vent holes in the bottom of the bucket and instead includesan alternative means for providing a pathway for air to reach and escapefrom a position between the bottom of the bucket and material loadedinto the bucket. Unlike traditional buckets containing vent holes,material will not empty from the disclosed vented buckets should theelevator pause or cease operation. In some embodiments, the presentinvention comprises a vented bucket including two oppositely disposedside panels joined by a rear panel, a bottom panel, and a front panel;and at least one vent tube extending in a substantially verticalorientation along a support panel; wherein the support panel is one ofthe rear panel, front panel and side panels. In further embodiments, theat least one vent tube is a plurality of vent tubes. In certainembodiments, the at least one vent tube includes a lower opening incommunication with an upper opening. In some embodiments, the loweropening is located in proximity to a joint between the bottom panel andthe support panel. In certain embodiments, the vented bucket includes awater level and the upper opening is located above the water level. Infurther embodiments, the upper opening is located at or above a top ofthe support panel. In certain embodiments, the at least one vent tubeextending along the support panel extends beside the support panel. Insome embodiments, the at least one vent tube extending along the supportpanel extends through the support panel. In further embodiments, therear panel, bottom panel and front panel are formed as a single integralmember. In certain embodiments, the rear panel, bottom panel, frontpanel and side panels are formed as a single integral member. In someembodiments, the support panel is the rear panel. In furtherembodiments, the bucket includes a support member, wherein the at leastone vent tube is attached to the support member and wherein the supportmember is attached to the support panel. In certain embodiments, thesupport member is located between the at least one vent tube and thesupport panel. In some embodiments, the bucket includes at least onemounting hole extending through the support member and the supportpanel.

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of the concepts thatare described in further detail in the detailed description and drawingscontained herein. This summary is not intended to identify any primaryor essential features of the claimed subject matter. Some or all of thedescribed features may be present in the corresponding independent ordependent claims, but should not be construed to be a limitation unlessexpressly recited in a particular claim. Each embodiment describedherein is not necessarily intended to address every object describedherein, and each embodiment does not necessarily include each featuredescribed. Other forms, embodiments, objects, advantages, benefits,features, and aspects of the present invention will become apparent toone of skill in the art from the detailed description and drawingscontained herein. Moreover, the various apparatuses and methodsdescribed in this summary section, as well as elsewhere in thisapplication, can be expressed as a large number of differentcombinations and subcombinations. All such useful, novel, and inventivecombinations and subcombinations are contemplated herein, it beingrecognized that the explicit expression of each of these combinations isunnecessary.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the present invention will be had uponreference to the following description in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

FIG. 1A depicts a top perspective view of a first embodiment of a ventedbucket;

FIG. 1B depicts a front elevation view of the first embodiment of thevented bucket;

FIG. 1C depicts a top plan view of the first embodiment of the ventedbucket;

FIG. 1D depicts a sectional front elevation view of the first embodimentof the vented bucket along line B-B of FIG. 1C;

FIG. 1E depicts a side elevation view of the first embodiment of thevented bucket;

FIG. 1F depicts a sectional side elevation view of the first embodimentof the vented bucket along line A-A of FIG. 1B;

FIG. 2A depicts a top perspective view of a second embodiment of avented bucket;

FIG. 2B depicts a front elevation view of the second embodiment of thevented bucket;

FIG. 2C depicts a top plan view of the second embodiment of the ventedbucket;

FIG. 2D depicts a sectional front elevation view of the secondembodiment of the vented bucket along line B-B of FIG. 2C;

FIG. 2E depicts a side elevation view of the second embodiment of thevented bucket; and

FIG. 2F depicts a sectional side elevation view of the second embodimentof the vented bucket along line A-A of FIG. 2B.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of theinvention, reference will now be made to selected embodimentsillustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used todescribe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitationof the scope of the invention is thereby intended; any alterations andfurther modifications of the described or illustrated embodiments, andany further applications of the principles of the invention asillustrated herein are contemplated as would normally occur to oneskilled in the art to which the invention relates. At least oneembodiment of the invention is shown in great detail, although it willbe apparent to those skilled in the relevant art that some features orsome combinations of features may not be shown for the sake of clarity.

Any reference to “invention” within this document is a reference to anembodiment of a family of inventions, with no single embodimentincluding features that are necessarily included in all embodiments,unless otherwise stated. Furthermore, although there may be referencesto “advantages” provided by some embodiments of the present invention,other embodiments may not include those same advantages, or may includedifferent advantages. Any advantages described herein are not to beconstrued as limiting to any of the claims.

Specific quantities (spatial dimensions, dimensionless parameters, etc.)may be used explicitly or implicitly herein, such specific quantitiesare presented as examples only and are approximate values unlessotherwise indicated. Discussions pertaining to specific compositions ofmatter, if present, are presented as examples only and do not limit theapplicability of other compositions of matter, especially othercompositions of matter with similar properties, unless otherwiseindicated.

The word “bucket,” as used herein, is a term of art when used inconnection with bucket elevators, and refers to an open-topped containercarried by such an elevator. The term is not intended to limit thecontainer to a cylindrical shape with a flat bottom. In someembodiments, as shown in the drawings, the bucket may include twooppositely disposed side panels joined by a rear panel, a bottom panel,and a front panel. In other embodiments, the bucket may be substantiallycylindrical in shape, wherein the side panels, front panel and rearpanel are a single curved piece. In further embodiments, the bucket maybe substantially triangular in shape, wherein an edge of each side paneljoins the rear panel and another edge of each side panel joins the otherside panel, such that the side panels cooperatively form bottom andfront panels. In certain embodiments, the bucket may include twooppositely disposed side panels joined by a rear panel, and a singlepanel abutting the rear panel and side panels functions as a bottompanel and front panel. In further embodiments, the bucket may anopen-topped container of other geometric or non-geometric shape.

Elevator buckets are available in a range of sizes and shapes. Bucketsare typically described in terms of the dimensions of their openings(i.e., width×length), their depth (alternatively referred to as height),their “water line”, the point below the top of the bucket above whichwater (or other flowable material) would spill out of the opening, and acapacity, which indicates the volume of the bucket below the water line.An exemplary small elevator bucket may be 3″×2″, with a depth of 2″, awater line depth of ⅜″, and a capacity of 6.0 cu. in. An exemplary largeelevator bucket may be 20″×9″, with a depth of 7 and ¾″, a water linedepth of 1 and ¼″, and a capacity of 433.3 cu. in. Larger, smaller, andintermediate sized elevator buckets are generally known in the art.Given standard manufacturing tolerances, dimensions may be accuratewithin ¼″ or ⅛″ or within ±10% or ±3%.

The words “vent tube” or “tube,” as used herein, refer to a hollow bodyfor conveyance of gases. As shown in the accompanying drawings, thedisclosed vent tube is not limited to a cylindrical body and may have arectangular or other non-circular shape in cross-section.

Referring to FIGS. 1A-1F, a first embodiment of a vented bucket 10includes two oppositely disposed side panels 12 joined by a rear panel14, a bottom panel 16, and a front panel 18. The front panel 18 iscurved in the depicted embodiment, providing the vented bucket 10 with ascoop-like shape. In other embodiments, the front panel 18 may bestraight, providing the bucket 10 with a wedge-like shape or rectangularshape.

The bucket 10 further includes at least one vent tube 20 extendingsubstantially vertically through the rear panel 14. As used herein,“substantially vertically” indicates that the at least one vent tube 20extends parallel or within 10 degrees of parallel to the direction ofthe height of the relevant panel. Each vent tube 20 includes a loweropening 22 located below the water level 27 of the bucket 10 and anupper opening 26 located above the water level 27. In the depicted firstembodiment, each lower opening 22 is located in proximity to the joint24 between the bottom panel 16 and the rear panel 14. In variousembodiments, “proximity” refers to the lower opening 22 being locatedwithin 2 inches, within 1 inch, within ½ inch, within ¼ inch, or within⅛ inch of the joint 24. In some embodiments of buckets, where the rearpanel and bottom panel are integral or otherwise do not possess adistinct joint, the lower opening may be located in proximity to thelowest point on the rear panel. In the depicted first embodiment, theupper opening 26 is located at the top 28 of the rear panel 14. The venttubes 20 provide passageways for air to move to and from the bottom ofthe bucket 10 when the bucket 10 contains material. This firstembodiment includes ten vent tubes 20 each with a rectangularcross-section. In other embodiments, a bucket 10 may include additionalor fewer vent tubes 20 as may be advantageous to effectively ventilatethe bottom of the bucket 10 and the vent tubes 20 may have differentshaped cross sections. In some embodiments, the vent tubes 20 includescreens (not shown), such as, for example, wire mesh, positioned acrossthe lower openings 22, upper openings 26, or both openings 22, 26 torestrict material from entering and clogging the vent tubes 20. The venttubes 20 are sized to fit within the rear panel 14 which, in someembodiments, may have a thickness of ½ inch to ⅛ inch. Heavy dutybuckets with thicker panels and light duty buckets with thinner panelsare also known in the art.

The rear panel 14 of the bucket includes at least one mounting hole 30for attaching the bucket to a suitable conveyor belt. In someembodiments, bolts, screws, or other fasteners are inserted through aplurality of mounting holes 30 to attach the bucket 16 to a conveyorsystem. The mounting holes 30 are preferably positioned not to impingeupon the vent tubes 20.

Referring to FIGS. 2A-2F, a second embodiment of a vented bucket 110includes two oppositely disposed side panels 112 joined by a rear panel114, a bottom panel 116, and a front panel 118. A support member 132 isattached to the rear panel 114. At least one mounting hole 130 forattaching the bucket 110 to a suitable conveyor system extend throughthe support member 132 and the support panel, in this second embodiment,the rear panel 114. At least one vent tube 120 is attached to thesupport member 132. In some embodiments, metal vent tubes may be weldedto a metal support member. In other embodiments, vent tubes may beattached to the support member via an adhesive. In further embodiments,the vent tubes and support member may be formed as a single integralmember, such as, for example, via injection molding. In certainembodiments, vent tubes may be attached directly to the rear panel orother panels, omitting the support member. The mounting holes 130 arepreferably positioned on the rear panel 114 in locations selected not toimpinge upon the vent tubes 120.

The vent tubes 120 extend substantially vertically beside the rear panel114. Each vent tube 120 includes a lower opening 122 located inproximity to the joint 124 between the bottom panel 116 and the rearpanel 114. Each vent tube 120 also includes an upper opening 120 locatedabove the water level 127. In the depicted second embodiment, the upperopening 126 is located above the top 128 of the rear panel 114. The venttubes 120 provide a passageway for air to move to and from the bottom ofthe bucket 110 when the bucket 110 contains material. This secondembodiment includes ten vent tubes 120 each with a circularcross-section. In other embodiments, a bucket 110 may include additionalor fewer vent tubes 120 as may be necessary to effectively ventilate thebottom of the bucket 110 and the vent tubes 120 may have non-circularcross-sections. In some embodiments, the vent tubes 120 include screens(not shown), such as, for example, wire mesh, positioned across thelower opening 122, upper opening 126, or both openings 122, 126 torestrict material from entering and clogging the vent tubes 120. Inother embodiments, the vent tubes 120 may include balls sized to rollwithin the tubes 120 and mechanically force material out of the tubes120. In such embodiments, the openings 122, 126 may optionally be sizedsmaller than the diameter of the balls to retain the balls within thevent tubes 120.

In the first embodiment, the bottom panel 16, front panel 18, sidepanels 12 and rear panel 14 with integrated vent tubes 20 are formed asa single integral member. In the second embodiment, the support member132 and vent tubes 120 may be attached to an existing bucket to create avented bucket 110. For example, a user may drill holes in the rear panel114 of an existing bucket 110 at locations corresponding to the mountingholes 130 on the support member 132. Fasteners, such as bolts or screws,may be inserted into the mounting holes 130, passing through the supportmember 132 and the rear panel 114 of the bucket 110 and into a suitableconveyor belt or chain to attach the support member 132 and vent tubes120 to the bucket 110 and attach the bucket 110 to the conveyor system.

In the first and second embodiments, the vent tubes 20, 120 extend alonga panel of the bucket 10, 110. In both depicted embodiments, the rearpanel 14, 114 serves as the support panel for the vent tubes 20, 120. Inother embodiments, the support panel may be one or both of the sidepanels 12, 112, the front panel 18, 118, the rear panel 14, 114 or acombination thereof.

The foregoing detailed description is given primarily for clearness ofunderstanding and no unnecessary limitations are to be understoodtherefrom, for modifications can be made by those skilled in the artupon reading this disclosure and may be made without departing from thespirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vented bucket comprising: two oppositelydisposed side panels joined by a rear panel, a bottom panel, and a frontpanel; at least one vent tube extending in a substantially verticalorientation along a support panel, wherein the support panel is one ofthe rear panel, front panel and side panels; and a support member,wherein the at least one vent tube is attached to the support member andwherein the support member is attached to the support panel.
 2. Thevented bucket of claim 1, wherein the at least one vent tube is aplurality of vent tubes.
 3. The vented bucket of claim 1, wherein the atleast one vent tube includes a lower opening in communication with anupper opening.
 4. The vented bucket of claim 3, wherein the loweropening is located in proximity to a joint between the bottom panel andthe support panel.
 5. The vented bucket of claim 3, wherein the ventedbucket includes a water level, and wherein the upper opening is locatedabove the water level.
 6. The vented bucket of claim 3, wherein theupper opening is located at or above a top of the support panel.
 7. Thevented bucket of claim 1, wherein the at least one vent tube extendingalong the support panel extends beside the support panel.
 8. The ventedbucket of claim 1, wherein the rear panel, bottom panel and front panelare formed as a single integral member.
 9. The vented bucket of claim 1,wherein the rear panel, bottom panel, front panel and side panels areformed as a single integral member.
 10. The vented bucket of claim 1,wherein the support panel is the rear panel.
 11. The vented bucket ofclaim 1, wherein the support member is located between the at least onevent tube and the support panel.
 12. The vented bucket of claim 1,further comprising at least one mounting hole extending through thesupport member and the support panel.